Saturday, May 29, 2010

At a ceremony hosted by Oakland City Council's Rebecca Kaplan, 100employees at medical marijuana dispensary and education hub OaksterdamUniversity turned in their membership cards to join the United Food andCommercial Workers Union, Local 5.

It may well be the first union pot shop in the country, if not the world.

While it will help employees collectively bargain and resolve disputeswith management, it also gives owner Richard Lee political allies withlabor organizations.

Lee is responsible for the Tax Cannabis 2010 ballot measure, which woulddecriminalize recreational use of cannabis, which polls suggest has neatlydivided California voters.

As legitimization of the multi-billion dollar business in marijuana couldset the stage for a growth industry, one that UFCW is now in on the groundfloor of. Which could help sway other growth-oriented unions like theService Employees International Union.

Of course, police officer associations and the correctional officers unionare unlikely to throw their support behind the ballot measure, since moredrug arrests means more money and jobs for law enforcement and prisons.

It remains to be seen if the ballot measure will pick up a new string oflabor endorsements, or whether it will pay off politically for the likesof Kaplan, who's running for Mayor of Oakland.

Jackson West loves it when labor and civil liberties meet, as in this caseand that of San Francisco's worker-owned Lusty Lady.